Printing machine



N v. 19, 1940- s. B. STAFFORD ET AL 2 221,930

PRINTING MACHINE Fild June 22 1939 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Zhmentors STEPHEN B. STAFFORD 8g HERMAN A. SMITH wiiness 1 V Her-barf EI g; v (mien V W- 1940- s. B. STAFFORD ETQAL' I 2 ,930

PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Shed 2 Zhwentor s STEPHEN B; S TAF'FURD BE;- HERMAN A.,5'M/T Herber'v Covey wiiness I I fabric to be printed and the lapping-so asto" Patented Nov. 19,

StcphenTB. Stafford, Oxford, and Herman L r a .Smith, Holden, Mass, assignors to Rice, Barton & Fales Incorporated, Worcester, Mass., a cor,- poration of Massachusetts I Application June 22, 1939, Serial No. 280,560 W I 9 Claims. (01. 101-1) This'invention relates to printing machinery and more particularly totextile printing machines which serve for printing designs in one or more colors on strips of cloth or other suitable material.

- Textile printing machinery of the type to which the present invention especially pertains may comprise a large central iron cylinder against which the fabric is supported during the printing operation. This cylinder or roll ordinarily has a lapping made of several layers of cloth wound about it, which provides a" resilient or elastic backing for the fabric to be printed; The

fabric is' led from a supply roll to a position where it passes around this lapping on the cylinder; but a blanket, or endless sheet of rubber or other suitable materiaL'is interposed between the form a more satisfactory backing for the printing operation; A further cloth, known as theback gray, is customarily placed 'betweenthe fabric to be printed and the blanket sola-s to absorb any excess ink that may have worked through the fabric. The printing is usually accomplished by means of one or several "intaglio" rolls mounted on suitable mandrels; which are positively rotated and which serve by frictional contact to drive the backing cylinder.

In a textile printing machinerof this type, it is frequently necessary 'to replace =.the rubber blanket; but owing to the fact that this blanket is made-up as -an endless piece, the operation has heretofore required disassembling many parts of the machine and has therefore been laborious,

time wasting and costly. a

The primary objectof this'invention is to provide a. printing machine of: this type vwhichis so constructed and arranged that 'aniendless blanket or other fabric may be readily and easily placed in position around the cylinder and between it and the printing roll. Further objectsvwill bev apparent in the following disclosure.

In accordance with this invention,.the cylinder;

is so mounted and arrangedthat it may be moved readily to. a. position which :permits assembling theendless blanket, and this is preferably. accomplished by so arranging the mechanism'that the.

cylinder and .one of its bearings may be "moved to a position where the endless blanket inay be passed around the end of thatbearing and into such-a position that it may be readilyplaced around the cylinder.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate a.

preferred embodiment of this invention as applied toa textile printing machine. of standard construction;

Fig. 1 is a. fragmentary vertical section of essential portions of the textile,-printing m achine;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation of theleft hand side frameof the machine;

Fig.3 isa similar fragmentary vertical elevation of the right hand end of the machine, taken on the'line 3-3 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail ofthehoisting mechanism lookingin the direction of the arrow 4inFig.l;and v Fig. 5 is a horizontal'section on the line 55 of Fig.3. 7

The machine illustrated comprises a backing 1 cylinder l0 (Fig. 33) carrying a lapping roll ii wound thereon. The fabric 12 to be printed is led by. suitable rollers to a position where it passes around the cylinder and between the latter and one or more printing rolls l3, two of which are shown, and it is then led to a receiving roll as qwill be understood. -The endless blanket I4 of rubber or other suitable material and the back gray fabric It also passbehind thev fabric i2 and are-suitably carried onrolls supported above the printing members. The printing rollreceives its inkfrom an, inking .or furnisher roll it which in turnreceives its printing ink from a trough suitably mounted-on,

the machine. -A doctor or scraper blade 22 is so mounted that it will serve totscrapeofif-the excess ink from the p i ntingroll; andthese parts; may all be constructedand arranged in accordance with standard practi .=e in the industry. v For example, the printing rolls may bemountedas shown in the patent to McNicol .et al. No. 1,924,6l4bf August 29, 19 33.

As illustrated particularly inFigQS, eachiprint ing roll 13 is preferably removablyjmountedonja' mandrel 24 which is carried in two bearings 26 suitablymounted in brackets 28 projecting from the side frames 30 and'32 of the machine. The printing rolls have to be held against th'ecylinder -10 under a high but adjustable pressure, and to that end the bearings'of the mandrels are mount ed in sl'ide blocks 33 mounted in suitable slideways '34, on the brackets, andpressure isapplied to these slide blocks 33 by means of manually adjustable screws 36 mounted on the bracket 28 and threaded into an upstanding portion of the bracket as illustrated. Hence, the printing rolls may Each printing "roll is driven by means of a gear 40' on one of its endswhich meshes with :an intermediate gear M, which isin turn driven by at be moved away from the-cylinder or thrust thereagainst under a desired pressure.

suitable source of power. The intermediate gear,

in the form illustrated-, is mounted on a short shaft 42 which is in'turn vsecuredvtovand projects laterally from a. yoke shaped bracket 44 that is bolted to the right hand side frame 30 of the machine. 1

The shaft carrying the cylinder I0 is mounted in bearings on its opposite-ends whichare suitably secured in the two sideframes, and a problem is presented in the matter of introducing a new blanket into position for the printing operation, since this blanket is an endless strip of material and must be placed around the main cylinder l0 and between it and the numerous printing rolls. vention is, therefore, a construction which permits replacement of the blanket readily without removing the cylinder from the machine or disassembling other important parts thereof. To this end, the main cylinder is so mounted that it and its bearings may be moved to a position where the endless blanket may be inserted around the end of one of the bearings, after which the cylinder and bearings may be returned to operative positions. This may be accomplished by so mounting the bearings that one is carried on a short slideway, such as an open ended slot, and may be moved to a position spaced from the frame, while the other bearing may, if desired, remain on its slideway, which thus guides it and keeps the cylinder properly located for return to a printing position. The cylinder is temporarily supported, during the movement, at points which permit a loop of the blanket to be passed over the bearing and so located that it may be subsequently placed around the cylinder l0 and be properly assembled.

As shown in the drawings, the right hand side frame 30 is provided with a long vertical slot 58 (Fig. 3) within which the bearing unit 52 for the right hand end of the cylinder is slidably mounted. The opposed or left hand side frame 32 is provided with an S-shaped bend 54 (Figs.

1 and 2) and a short, open ended, vertical slot.

56,'and the bearing unit 58 is arranged to be moved up and out of this slot or slideway. This slot 58 is actually entirely enclosed in metal, but owing to its being located in the S-shaped portion of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1, it presents an opening through which the vertically movable bearing may escape. It will, .of course, be appreciated that the frame may terminate just above the bearing and thus provide a bearing slot which is fully open at its upper end. Also, many types of slideways or other mounts may be used which permit removal of the bearing; but the illustrated construction has the advantage of not changing materially the mounting of the various mechanisms commonly arranged and supported on the top of the side frame.

Thebearings for the cylinder lill may be suitably constructed, but as shown particularly in Fig. 5, they may comprise two telescoping members .60 and 62 providing outwardly extending flanges 63 and 64 at each side which are adapted to ride in one of the slots 50 or 56 and thus serve as guides which hold the bearings properly located withinthe slideway. The shaft 66, which carries the cylinder l0, may be suitably mounted in ball bearings 81 located within the members 80 and 62 and otherprovisions made as required for suitably mounting the shaft of the cylinder Hi. It will be noted in Fig. 5 that the shaft 68 is a short shaft extending only into the bearings and does not have any connection with the driving gear 4|, since the cylinder I8 is driven only by frictional contact with the printing roll. However, various arrangements may be made for connecting the shaft 88 with other mechanism to be driven in synchronism therewith.

The two bearings of the cylinder H] are mai tained in proper location and alignment against the pressure of the printing roll by two similar adjustable devices, which comprise a screw 18 The primary feature of this in-- having a pivot foot H bearing against, a suitably shaped portion of the outer casing-ll of the bearing. The screw 10 is threaded through a cross bar or thrust member 12 which is of greater length than the width of the slot III or "in which the bearing is mounted. This bar extends laterally into recesses 14 in the main frame of the machine, which thus form thrust receiving parts that interlock with the bars 12. Another pair of screws 16 is threaded into the frame 'at tho bottom portion of each recess 50, 58, and each has a pivotal engagement with the bottom portion of the bearing block and thus serves as an adjustment limiting the downward movement and position ofeach of the bearings. The screws 16 are manually adjusted to locate the bottoms of the bearings and the cross bar I2 is thrust upwardly against the top portion of the slot M by applying pressure to the screw 18. When it is desired to move the cylinder and the bearings upwardly, then the screw 10 is loosened and the bar 12 swung laterally and removed.

The vertical movement of the cylinder l8 and its associated shaft and bearings may be accomplished by any suitable mechanism, such as that shown in Figs. 1 and 4, which comprises a cross shaft 88 mounted on the two side frames of the machine. 'Thiscross shaft has two cylindrical drums 8| secured thereto, as by keys, and a chain 82 is secured to each of these blocks. The lower end of each chain is suitably secured to a yoke 84 made of two parts pivoted together and arranged for surrounding the shaft 86 for ready removal therefrom. The chains may be wound on the drums 8| by rotating the shaft 60 and thus lift the cylinder Ill and its bearings. This rotation of the shaft 80 may be suitably accomplished, such as by means of the hand lever 85 having a yoked end 88 pivotally mounted on one end of .the shaft 88. A ratchet wheel 81 located within the yoke 86 is fixed to the shaft and a pawl 88 is pivotally mounted onthe lever 85 so as to engage the. teeth of the ratchet wheeland turn it in a direction to lift the cylinder ID. A furtherpawl 88 is pivoted on a short stud 88 to the side frame so as to hold the ratchet wheel 81 in the position to which it is advanced by reciprocation of the hand lever.

The operation of this device will now beiapparent in view of the above disclosure. Assuming that the machine parts are in the operative arrangement as shown in the drawings and that it is desired to remove the blanket l4 and replace the same, the bearing screws 36 which hold the print rolls in position are first turned to release the pressure and remove the rolls from contact with the cylinder Ill. The cross bars 12 which hold the cylinder bearings in position are released by manipulation of the screw Ill. and the.

thrust bars and screw 18 are then removed from the machine. Then by operation of the hand lever 85,;as shown in Fig. 4, the chain hoist is caused to lift the cylinder and its hearings vertically. The right hand bearing of the cylinder remains within its slot 50; while the lefthand bearing moves up to the S-shaped portion of the machine and then into the expanded upper porti on of the slot 58 as shown particularly in Fig. 2 where'it passes freely'away from the side frame to the dotted line position of Fig. 1. Then by suitable manipulation of the endless blanket H, a loop. thereof may be passed around the free left hand end bearing and positioned in the space between the chain 82 and the side frame. Thereafter, the cylinder l8 and its bearings may be lowered into position and the chains and their yokes 84 removed from contact with the shaft 66.

Then the blanket may be moved into position around the cylinder l0 and be suitably mounted on the various supporting rolls which carry it in its endless travel. It will now be appreciated that many modifications may be made and various equivalent constructions employed for the purposes of this invention; hence the above description and the drawings are to be considered as illustrating the' arranged to serve as a backing for the material to be printed by said roll, and bearings for said cylinder which are movably mounted on the side frames, said frame and bearings being so constructed and arranged that the cylinder and its bearings may be moved bodily to a position where one of the bearings is free from its associated side frame so that an endless blanket may be placed around the cylinder.

2. A textile printing machine comprising side frames, a printing roll and associated mechanism mounted on said frame, a cylinder arranged to-serve as a backing for the fabric to be printed by said roll, an endless blanket around the cylinder and interposed between it and the printing roll, a bearing for each end of the cylinder mounted in the associated side frame, said side frame having guideways so shaped and arranged that the bearings may be mounted therein and vertically moved to a position where one of the bearings is free from the frame so that the blanket may be passed between the frame and bearing and removed or inserted in position around the cylinder.

3. A textile printing machine comprising two side frames, a printing roll and associated mechanism mounted thereon, a cylinder arranged to serve as a backing for material to be printed by said roll, bearings for each end of the cylinder,

-means for mounting the. bearings on the side frames, said parts being so constructed that the cylinder may be moved to a position where one bearing is free and spaced from its associated side frame for inserting a blanket and wrapping it around the cylinder, and means independent of the bearings whereby the cylinder may be moved to and from said position.

4. A textile printing machine comprising a printing roll, a cylinder arranged to serve as a backing for the material to be printed by said roll, bearings arranged to support each end of the cylinder, two opposed frame members, a slideway on each frame member, guides on the bearings mounted for sliding in said slideways, said parts being so arranged that the bearings may slide to positions where one bearing is free from its slideway and an endless blanket may be passed over the bearing and around the cylinder, and means for lifting the bearings and cylinder for said purpose.

5. A textile printing machine comprising a printing roll, a cylinder arranged to serve as a backing for the material to be printed by said roll, bearings arranged to carry the cylinder, two

opposed frame members for supporting the bearings, each frame member having an elongated slideway and the bearings being slidably mounted thereon, one slideway and associated bearing being so constructed that the bearing may be moved off the slideway and be free from its supporting frame for insertion of an endless blanket around the cylinder and means for moving the cylinder and bearings for said purpose.,

.6. A textile printing machine comprising two opposed machine frames, a positively driven printing roll mounted therein, a cylinder arranged to serve as a backing for the fabric to, be printed by said roll, a shaft supporting said cylinder for free rotation so that it may be frictionally driven by the printing roll, bearings for the opposite ends of the cylinder shaft, a vertical elongated slot in each frame forming a slideway, guides associated. with the bearings movable in the slideways, one slideway and slot forming an open slot from which the bearing guide may pass to a position where the bearing and cylinder shaft are free from the frame and an endless blanket may be inserted between the machine frame and bearing and positioned around the cylinder, and mechanism whereby the cylinder and its bearings may be moved to permit insertion of saidblanket.

'7. A textile printing machine comprising two opposed side frames, a printing roll and associated driving mechanism movably mounted on the frame, a cylinder arranged to serve as a backing for the fabric to be printed by said roll, bearings for each end of the cylinder, the side frames having vertical slideways within which said bearings are mounted, one of said slideways being so shaped and arranged that the associated bearing may be removed from contact with the supportingframe for inserting a blanket therebetween, said frame having an opening adjacent to the free bearing arranged for inserting the endless blanket therethrough and around the bearing and cylinder shaft, and means for moving the cylinder and bearings to said positions for said purposes and means for holding the bearings in their operative positions.

8. A textile printing machine according to claim 7 which comprises a removable thrust member and an associated interlocking member on the frame and means for adjusting the position of the bearing which causes the pressure of the printing roll to be absorbed by said thrust member.

9. A textile printing machine comprising a freely rotatable cylinder, a power driven printing roll opposed thereto, two opposed side frames, pressure mechanism for adjustably mounting the roll on theframes and moving it towards the cylinder, two bearings for the cylinder, a slideway on each frame and associated parts on the 

